


Hold Me Tight

by CJ_Quill



Category: Shaun of the Dead
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Liz is the very best girlfriend, and she deserves more appreciation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 18:03:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14194623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJ_Quill/pseuds/CJ_Quill
Summary: “You’ve been crying.”“What?” Shaun scrubbed at his eyes with his palm. “No I haven’t.”“Shaun,”“I’m fine."





	Hold Me Tight

**Author's Note:**

> Felt it was a disservice that SotD is my favorite of the trilogy and I haven't written anything for it, so I wrote a quick little thing.

“It’s always so nice to see you, Di,” Liz said as she undid her seatbelt.

“You too, Lizzie. Do call me more, I miss you.” Dianne placed her hand over Liz’s and gave her a gentle smile.

Liz smiled back, leaning across the car to kiss Dianne’s cheek, just in front of her ear. Dianne blushed. She traced her thumb in little circles over the back of Liz’s hand absentmindedly, failing to find her words. She coughed.

“Now, now, you’d best get inside,” She said. “It gets hard to track those zombies after dark.”

“We don’t use that word.” Liz reminded her. “Drive safely, say hello to Aunt Cindy for me.”

“I always do,”

Liz gave Dianne’s hand a pat and climbed out of the car. Dianne waved after her, waiting until she was safely inside before driving off.

Inside, Liz watched the car pull away through the window. She turned into the house, a bit surprised to not immediately spot her boyfriend sitting on the sofa. He should’ve been home from work by now. She stepped further inside and waited a moment, thinking maybe he’d pop out from the kitchen or something, but he didn’t.

“Shaun, babe!” She called. “I’m home!”

No response. The bathroom door was open, so he wasn’t in there, meaning there was only one other place he’d be. Liz sighed and headed reluctantly out to the garden.

The shed door hung just slightly open - they made sure to never close it fully when Shaun was in there just in case something happened. Liz could hear the 8-bit theme and sound effects of some video game getting a bit louder as she approached. She knocked on the door gently.

“Hey, babe?”

Again, no response. Liz felt her stomach drop and threw open the door, primed to grab the shovel she kept sitting outside. To her relief, though, Shaun wasn’t being eaten. He was just… asleep. He snored, loudly, so he was definitely still alive. Liz craned inside hesitantly to survey him for bites, again thankful to find none. The dread in the pit of her stomach lifted away.

The game was still going on the TV. It looked like Ed was still absentmindedly playing, beating Shaun’s character every time he respawned. Shaun wasn’t holding his controller, it wasn’t even on his lap, instead sitting in front of him like he’d deliberately put it down before falling asleep on Ed’s shoulder. His hands clutched loosely to Ed’s torn, bloody, rot-covered shirt. Ed’s head was tilted to the side a bit, too. Very slowly nuzzling his cheek against Shaun, like a cat showing affection.

He really _did_ recognize Shaun.

A horrid stench suddenly permeated Liz’s nose and she recoiled, remembering one of multiple reasons they had agreed she wouldn’t come in the shed unless she absolutely had to. Other than the sickening smell, Shaun’s coping mechanism was just hard for her to face. Shaun might have gotten used to his best friend’s new state, but seeing Ed like this just made Liz sad. A little queasy, too, but mostly sad. And Shaun’s relentless complacence with the situation, his refusal to let go, made it even worse.

Liz stepped back outside, choking a bit on the smell. She cleared her throat, taking in the fresh air before kneeling back down and taking her boyfriend’s shoulder gently.

“Shaun, wake up,” She said.

Shaun’s snore caught in his throat and he jolted up. “Hm?”

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Liz patted his shoulder to get him to turn around.

His eyes were bloodshot, tear streaks down his cheeks. Bits of rotted gunk stuck to the side of his face. He looked like a complete wreck, really, but he smiled when he saw Liz.

“Hey, babe.” He said, switching off the TV and getting clumsily to his feet. He patted Ed’s shoulder. “I’ll see you later, mate.”

Ed grunted in response. Shaun stepped back out of the shed and pushed the door shut, latching it up to keep his friend safe inside. He turned back and held out his hand, which Liz took. They started back to the house.

“How’s Dianne?” He asked.

“Oh, she’s good, told me to say hello.” Liz scratched the back of her neck.

“Good, good.”

“How’s Ed?”

“The same.”

“Good.” A moment of uncomfortable silence passed. Liz squeezed Shaun’s hand. “You’ve been crying.”

“What?” Shaun scrubbed at his eyes with his palm. “No I haven’t.”

“Shaun,”

“I’m fine.”

Shaun pulled his hand from Liz’s and went to sit on the sofa. Liz waited a moment before sitting beside him. She touched his arm, waiting to speak until he looked at her.

“I’m just worried about you, babe. You can’t go out to the shed every time you start to feel sad, it only exacerbates things. I’m right here for you, don’t forget that.”

Quiet. Liz brushed her fingers gingerly over the scruff on Shaun’s cheek. He touched her hand and looked down at his lap. With her other hand, she squeezed his again and held open her arms. He sniffled dejectedly and collapsed into her hold.

“I’m supposed to be the one holding you,” Shaun laughed, his voice breaking a bit.

“You hold me every night,” Liz crooned. “This is the least I can do.”

She cradled him lovingly, doing her best to ignore the stench that still lingered on him. He curled into her embrace, wrapping himself in her arms like he was afraid of what would happen if she let go. She held him tighter, tracing her hand in gentle circles over his back. He buried his face in her shoulder, trembling. She stroked his hair.

“Shh, it’s alright,” She murmured. “It’s alright, I’ve got you. I’m not letting you go.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty happy with this, I won't lie! Thanks for reading <3


End file.
